Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

Deputy Speaker Claydon, you would be very impressed if you wandered not far from here, Parliament House, and you went to the Yass Valley. You would find a lot of budding Tom Cruises. And when you go out and about in the Yass Valley area, you hear them say, 'Show me the money. Show me the money! Show me the money!' What they're referring to is, of course, the Barton Highway, because it has been neglected. And those budding Tom Cruises—aka Jerry Maguires—are shouting out 'Show me the money!' because they want money for one of Australia's busiest highways, which between 2014 and 2023 has unfortunately seen 141 crashes, nine deaths and five serious injuries.

In 2020, during the by-election, the now regional development minister promised a quarter of a billion dollars. Well, Minister, show me the money! Then, of course, in November 2023, it became $150 million, and we haven't seen that either. Minister, show me the money! And then, of course, we got $25 million in the last budget—apparently. But I say again, 'Show me the money!' because we haven't seen the money.

Labor has neglected the Barton Highway, just like they've neglected regional Australia. Show me the money, Labor!

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